


You’re Already Home Where You Feel Loved

by pine_cedar_maple



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-03
Packaged: 2018-03-05 01:10:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3099404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pine_cedar_maple/pseuds/pine_cedar_maple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico does not like to be gossiped about.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You’re Already Home Where You Feel Loved

Nico was really starting to like the campfire.  He was warming up to it, both figuratively and literally.  Sitting on a log with Jason on one side of him and Will on the other, Nico felt comfortable and like he was, well, home.  He hadn’t felt like he was home in a long time and had to get used to it again. 

It was the summer after the defeat of Gaea.  Everyone had recovered and moved on like they always did.  Leo had made his miraculous reappearance with Calypso, Jason had already gotten a few shrines built, and Percy and Annabeth would be going to college in New Rome in the fall.  Life was continuing on. Especially for Nico and Will.

They’d become close friends by the end of the last summer, and then Will had left for school.  He and Nico kept in touch through the occasional Iris message and Nico even dropping into Will’s room in the middle of the night once via shadow travel. When summer began again, things progressed quickly.  Will was not one to beat around the bush, and stole a kiss only a week into the summer. 

He had gotten Nico to help him with small chores in the infirmary so that they could spend some time together when Nico himself wasn’t one of the patients (which happened more often than Nico would like to admit).  Things were awkward for a short while, but that did not stop Will’s advances.  No one had used the word boyfriend yet due to their fear of what Nico would do to them if they were caught throwing around such a term so lightly. 

But no matter what you wanted to call it, it was an indisputably close relationship.  They spent nearly every day together, mostly consisting of Will dragging Nico to and from the infirmary.  The sight of them doing anything a couple would do, such as holding hands or occasionally kissing, was rare and a hot topic amongst the other campers.  To witness it was like spotting a rare bird or natural phenomenon.  And when it happened, it was a sight to see.  No one could deny the electricity between the two.  But the real phenomenon happened out of the prying eye of the public. 

The moments where Nico and Will were alone in the infirmary were never wasted.  Will was usually the one to initiate a kiss, but Nico always made sure that once it began, it lasted as long as it could.  Nico did not like to lose what he had worked for.  It was probably a deep rooted fear due to his traumatic childhood, but it wasn’t doing any harm.  So what if he held the kiss a little longer or was a bit reluctant to let go of Will’s hand? But if the two ever happened to be alone in the Apollo cabin or, more likely, the Hades cabin, it was hard to tell who started it.  They were pulled together like magnets, kissing for as long as either could go without running out of air.  Electricity ran through them everywhere they touched.  Hands ran through shaggy hair and Nico’s thin frame pressed against Will’s lean, fit build. One such meeting resulted in a hickey on Nico’s lower neck, and despite his affinity for large coats and more layers than was sane for the warm weather, Percy caught a glimpse and the knowledge of it spread like wildfire through the camp.  Nico and Will were the talk of the town (or camp, rather), whether they wanted to be or not.

So here Nico was, between Will and Jason, sitting on a log and enjoying the merriment around him.  People were breaking into song every few minutes, as was the custom around the campfire, and others were talking and laughing together.

Jason had casually placed an arm around Piper on his other side and scooted a little closer to her, so Nico and Will were left with the rest of the log to themselves and a little room to spare.  At some point Will had discreetly taken Nico’s hand in his own, where it stayed until Will got up to get more marshmallows and sticks to roast them on. Nico took this opportunity to take in his surroundings.

Annabeth was helping Percy clean marshmallow off his face on the next log over, and next to them was Leo, attempting to roast a marshmallow while it was inside his mouth. He had already spit flaming pieces of marshmallow onto Calypso a few times by accident.  But what caught Nico’s eye was the two kids across the fire, whispering and occasionally stealing glances at Nico.

They were young campers, a son of Demeter and a daughter of Aphrodite. Nico had seen them around but never spoken to them, and it was only the second summer at camp for both of them.  Nico assumed that they were good friends, judging by how excitedly they were talking together.  At some point they either gave up on whispering or decided that they wanted to be heard, because Nico heard his name and Will’s come from their log across the fire. 

It wasn’t hard to tell that they were not speaking kindly about the two boys, and Nico soon realized that it was the fact that they were both boys that had caught their attention.  _Those two gossiping idiots have a problem with us being gay,_ Nico thought to himself.  Jason picked up on Nico’s sudden hostility and realized what was happening.  The two were being so blatantly homophobic that nearly the whole circle around the campfire quickly hushed and there was sudden edge to the atmosphere. The reactions were mixed.  A few people looked angry, but more were just nervous about what would happen next.

“Do you want me to go talk to them?” Jason asked Nico quietly. Jason looked concerned and little angry, as if he was ready to do more than just talk to them if need be.  Nico shook his head.  He was grateful for Jason’s concern, but he was going to take care of these idiots on his own.

Will was chatting up one of his siblings over by the marshmallows still, totally oblivious to what was happening.  Nico gave the two kids a menacing glare before getting a beautiful idea.

“Hey Will, come here” he called to the oblivious boy.  Will gave him a smile, parted with the girl he was talking to, and headed over with two sticks of marshmallows.  Nico stood up just as Will got to him and took him by the shoulders, forcing Will onto the log, sitting with his back to the fire and facing Nico.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Will inquired, looking curious but confused as Nico took the sticks out of Will’s hand and set them on the ground. 

“Nico, seriously, what’s…” Will was interrupted when Nico kissed him mid-sentence. He lowered himself onto Will’s lap so he was straddling him and facing the fire. A gasp was heard from somewhere in the crowd and murmurs broke out, but the girl and boy across the fire were just staring open-mouthed.  Meanwhile, Will had totally forgotten the crowd and kissed Nico back just as intensely.  One hand tangled in Nico’s hair and another ran along his back to the hem of his shirt.  Nico let Will’s mouth move a little lower down, so he was kissing his neck.  Nico tilted his head back, eyes closed, breathing heavily, and then faintly smiled and, with both hands, flipped off the bastards across the fire. 

He heard a few gasps, the Demeter kid sputtering indignantly, a few shocked laughs, and Percy and Leo laughing their asses off.  Nico cracked his eyes open slightly to view the reactions he’d gotten.  As much as he didn’t usually like attention, he was rather proud of himself and let himself take in the moment. 

Annabeth got up one log away, kissed Percy goodnight, and began walking to her cabin.  As she passed Nico, who had put Will’s mouth firmly back on his own, she held up a hand and high-fived him as she walked, chuckling mischievously all the way back to her cabin.

A few minutes later (though it felt like hours to Nico), the two finally broke apart.  Nico slid off of Will’s lap and picked up the marshmallow sticks, handing one to Will as he spun around to face the campfire.  Everyone was silent, staring expectantly at the couple to see what would happen next, but they just began roasting marshmallows over the fire like nothing had happened.  Will was giving Nico a confused smile, but he seemed to have picked up enough of the situation to know not to speak. 

The color was slowly returning to the faces of the Aphrodite girl and Demeter boy, who stood up abruptly and hurried off without looking back.  As soon as they were out of earshot, a few whoops and hollers and even a little applause was heard.  All Nico could do was return Will’s wide grin and bite off a marshmallow.  Yeah, he was really starting to like the campfire.  He felt home.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thanks for reading! This was really dumb but for some reason I felt the need to write it, so I hope you liked it. The title is from the song "Lost in my Mind" by the Head and the Heart.


End file.
